Blog

You Rushed to Pay Off Your House. Nobody Told You There’s a Mortgage on Your IRA.

November 9, 2026

You paid off the house before retiring. Have you paid off your IRA? J. Barry Watts explains why roughly a third of that account belongs to the IRS, how Social Security gets taxed, and what being ready to retire really takes.

The IRS Spelled Backwards: Why Taxes Are Your Largest Retirement Expense, and What to Do About It

November 6, 2026

Income taxes will likely be your largest expense in retirement, and you have more control over them than you’ve been told. J. Barry Watts explains the difference between a CPA and a tax strategist, and why a million dollar IRA isn’t a million dollars.

Go-Go, Slow-Go, No-Go: The Three Retirements You Will Live Through, and the One Nobody Plans For

November 2, 2026

Retirement now runs thirty years or more, and it comes in three phases. J. Barry Watts walks through the go-go, slow-go and no-go years, what each one costs, and why he plans every client to age one hundred.

There Are Only Five Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care. I Use the Fifth One.

October 30, 2026

Medicare stops where long-term care starts, and there are only five ways to pay for it. J. Barry Watts explains each one, the one he chose for himself, and why your kids should know which drawer holds the plan.

You Don’t Have a Retirement Plan. You Have a Junk Drawer.

October 26, 2026

Most people bring in a box of statements and policies and call it a retirement plan. J. Barry Watts walks through the six steps that turn that drawer into one, from income and taxes to long-term care, legacy and when to claim Social Security.

Four Questions Everybody Asks Before They Retire. It’s the Fifth One That Ruins People.

October 23, 2026

By: J. Barry Watts, Expert Tax Strategist and Retirement Designer We are asked questions all day long and hardly notice. What’s for dinner? When’s the meeting? How was your day? That last one isn’t really a question — nobody listens to the answer. I’ve tested it. Somebody asks how I’m doing and I’ll say, not…

Blog

You Rushed to Pay Off Your House. Nobody Told You There’s a Mortgage on Your IRA.

The IRS Spelled Backwards: Why Taxes Are Your Largest Retirement Expense, and What to Do About It

Go-Go, Slow-Go, No-Go: The Three Retirements You Will Live Through, and the One Nobody Plans For

There Are Only Five Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care. I Use the Fifth One.

You Don’t Have a Retirement Plan. You Have a Junk Drawer.

Four Questions Everybody Asks Before They Retire. It’s the Fifth One That Ruins People.

Talk With the Retirement Planning Team From Their Springfield Headquarters Today